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With governments and pharmaceutical companies around the world competing against time to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology aims to make available rapid and molecular diagnostic tests by the end of next month.
In an interview with News18, DBT secretary Dr. Renu Swarup speaks on a variety of topics, including the prospects of India’s vaccine development efforts and the precision of the virus as a “laboratory release theory” ”
Serum Institute will manufacture the vaccine development by the University of Oxford, but no Indian company appears to be on the first curve of vaccine development. Despite having a large number of biotech companies, why are we lagging behind in the race for vaccine research and development?
The current Covid-19 pandemic is a public health crisis of greatest international concern. Vaccine development is a global effort, which means that it must be accessible worldwide. We should be happy that an Indian company is doing that. We are not far behind, since a large number of industries and research institutes are working on the candidate vaccine.
India is among the largest manufacturers of generic drugs and vaccines in the world. It is home to half a dozen major vaccine manufacturers, who dose against polio, meningitis, pneumonia, rotavirus, BCG, measles, mumps, and rubella, among other diseases. Now half a dozen Indian companies are developing Covid-19 vaccines. Serum, in collaboration with Codagenix, a US biotech company, is also developing a “live attenuated” vaccine. Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad, is working on two candidate vaccines.
Zydus Cadilla is working on two vaccines, while Biological E, Indian Immunologicals and Mynvax are developing one vaccine each. Four to five other home vaccines are in the early stages of development. DBT is funding vaccine development efforts under its National Biopharmacy Mission to accelerate these efforts.
In the post-coronavirus world, it appears that India may emerge as a viable alternative to China for G-7 countries. Has your department developed plans to boost Make in India and increase exports?
There is a significant push to bring indigenous products to India. Covid-19 has given us enough reasons to strengthen our development of indigenous products and drive Make in India not only for national markets but also for the world. The Make in India cell at BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, a PSU of the Department of Biotechnology) has been instrumental in helping startups and connecting them with investors and investments.
Now, with the economic crisis, startups face more challenges and have made our role more critical. A new fast-track review mechanism has been developed to support new companies for COVID solutions. The review body aims to find co-financing partners and help mobilize CSR funds for the research consortium.
What have India’s sequencing efforts revealed about the Sars-Cov-2 virus?
India has shared the genome sequence with the global organism. Various institutes such as the National Institute of Virology (ICMR), the Gujrat Biotechnology Research Center, IGIB (CSIR), the National Institute for Biomedical Genomics (DBT-NIBG) are working to support a global genome database. Their goal is to improve understanding of the virus and develop a vaccine.
Continuous sequence monitoring and analysis are vital to understanding the genetic evolution and substitution rates of SARS-CoV-2. It also helps immensely in epidemiological investigations. Recently, the Biotechnology Department has launched a project to sequence 1,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from samples across India to understand the evolutionary behavior of the virus that causes Covid-19. The study would help understand emerging mutations in the virus and how they affect the symptoms of the disease.
There are several theories about the outbreak doing rounds. Is there any scientific evidence to support the laboratory launch theory?
The identification of the animal source of the virus through international scientific missions and collaboration, in collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, has been maintained by WHO as one of its priorities. . However, there is a scientific consensus that the available data suggests that the virus was not genetically modified.
DBT has recently said that India seeks to be self-sufficient in the production of RT-PCR test kits and antibodies by the end of next month. How will this objective be accomplished?
Yes, we are working to meet the country’s demand during the national crisis by making rapid and molecular diagnostics available for Covid-19. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under its National Biopharmacy Mission, is supporting the Andhra Pradesh Technology Zone, which is Asia’s first medical equipment manufacturing ecosystem dedicated exclusively to Medtech.
This DBT-AMTZ COMManD strategy would ensure that fast infrastructure capabilities are used to progressively improve home manufacturing capabilities in the medical technology sector in a fast and quality-assured manner. We have also supported some ICMR approved startups to expand their production. The development and indigenous production of resources and components for the manufacture of kits are also supported.
